Flying the unfriendly, uncomfortable skies

By any measure, this is a tough time to be in the airline business. Volatile weather, skyrocketing fuel prices, a pandemic, geopolitical conflict and what seems to be constant labour disruptions. That being said, some airlines seem to have a capacity for generating more than their fair share of suffering.

For a case in point, we need only look to WestJet.

Some of the trouble facing WestJet is episodic and unique. Like earlier this month, when a WestJet flight attendant collecting cups and soft drink cans mocked the weight of a size-large passenger by patting him on his tummy and warning the passenger about the perils of sugary sodas. “My wife looked at me and said, you know, ‘What the hell?’”

This story alone would have made for a horrible, no good, very bad week for the Calgary-based airline. But then came the legroom video.

Shot by a couple on a WestJet flight out of Edmonton, the video shows a taller man trying to wedge himself into what the airline called “newly reconfigured” seats that feature only 28 inches of leg room. In case you were wondering, 28 inches is among the smallest amount of legroom offered by any Canadian airline. In the video, you can see the passenger’s legs jammed uncomfortably into the seat in front of him, seats so close that it seems impossible to imagine he could make use of his seat-back tray table.

It’s not as if WestJet didn’t warn us.

In September, the airline issued a news release announcing it would reconfigure seating on 43 Boeing 737 jets to add one extra row of seating.

To date, 21 planes have been reconfigured.

In its defence, WestJet noted the changes were approved by Transport Canada and subjected to internal focus groups where airline employees, including executives, travelled in one of the re-configured jets to get the full, cramped experience. Their verdict was that while the narrower rows would be problematic on long-haul flights, they were likely acceptable for domestic travel.

That appears to have been a massive misread of public opinion.

WestJet’s public rationale for the reconfiguration was as maddening as the experience of flying without legroom. The changes, the airline said, were made to keep ticket prices affordable.

The problem is that adding a row of seats only works if people are willing to actually buy up all the seats in that reconfigured plane. That seems unlikely based on the public backlash that has ensued.

WestJet is no doubt facing all kinds of financial pressures. However, corporate strategies that seek greater profitability by eroding customer value and experience are a one-way flight to financial ruin. Travellers who rely on the lowest-cost options for airline travel can already tell you how demoralizing and, at times, humiliating it is to fly economy: forced to board last, with exorbitant fees to pre-select seats and fewer meal and drink options. Heck, some airlines now won’t let its value-minded customers check in online to escape long queues at the airport. Online check-in is apparently an exclusive benefit for those occupying much more expensive seats.

On Friday, WestJet backtracked, and in its own version of musical chairs, ended the leg-room plan, saying in a statement “As an entrepreneurial airline founded on making air travel affordable to Canadians it’s in our DNA to try new products. At the same time, it is just as important to react quickly if they don’t meet the needs of our guests.”

The right call, after a critically bad choice.

Now, to focus on those things that will keep the company viable for the long haul: greater value, enhanced customer experience and fewer tummy pats.

» Winnipeg Free Press